Well, the weather has been steadily improving here, and I'm getting really excited about "breaking ground" in the COMET.

I'll be moving her away from her parking lot home to a house where I can work on her.

Soon I'll be peeling back the walls to see what surprises wait for me there (most likely a rotten wood surprise). Then I'll be testing the electricity and looking at the wiring to figure out how to best implement my totally DC solar system, while fixing up the tow wiring/lights.

This may be a little premature, since nothing has really been set in stone yet, but I'm VERY excited and honored because Derek Diedricksen, fellow tiny house guy and artist (check out relaxshacks.com) asked me to bring the COMET to his summer Tiny House Workshop this year, and give a little talk about the project and show it's progress.

It'll be great for people to be able to feel the space and see my work in progress: a behind the scenes sort of thing. The fact that I'm going to be towing the COMET around while it's being worked on makes me think I should work backwards: design and repaint the exterior first, then work on the inside.

I want to have a really eye-catching and informational exterior design so that people know what the project is all about, and maybe put the website on the side so people can find more info about it. Anyway, more details on the COMET's live appearances this summer will follow.

This past week I have been reflecting on the progress of The COMET so far, putting together a very large and detailed presentation about what I've done in the last few months. There's so much research behind the scenes, behind every blog post.

It's so interesting to look back on my preliminary project ideas, my first grant proposals, and other material from a few years ago, when the COMET was just a dream, and then look at how much progress I have made in terms of the concept and what the project really means and needs to accomplish.

It's also amazing to see how much my knowledge of sustainable sciences, materials, and systems has increased and grown from a general interest to a real understanding.

One thing that I have been thinking about in particular is the pros and cons of using newly manufactured "eco-products" versus recycled and repurposed materials, which may not be "eco" per-se, but would have otherwise ended up in the landfill.

In my mind, it is better to use an existing material (reused, recycled, or just leftovers) than purchase something brand new, because no matter how sustainable the new product is, it has to be manufactured using some form of energy, it has to use fuel to travel, etc.

I think instead of using as many "eco-friendly" products as possible in The COMET, I am going to focus on the repurposing and recycling of existing materials, and whatever I can't find used, replace with eco-friendly new. I've been thinking of innovative ways to re-use things that I already have in order to make what is currently missing in the COMET.

This post was really scattered, but I just wanted to give you all a general update :) Thank you to everyone who has been reading along and following the progress of The COMET. Contact me with any feedback you may have or ideas you think I should be incorporating into the project!